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State lenders expand toll road e-payment plan
Four state-owned banks are expected to expand their integrated electronic payment system for all toll roads nationwide by the end of next year to increase efficiency, a minister has said
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our state-owned banks are expected to expand their integrated electronic payment system for all toll roads nationwide by the end of next year to increase efficiency, a minister has said.
State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Rini Soemarno voiced her expectation during the signing of an agreement by four state lenders Bank Mandiri, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) on the electronic payment for toll roads run by state-owned toll road operator Jasa Marga.
'The board of directors in the State-Owned Banks Association [Himbara] should work hard to expand this electronic payment system to all toll roads nationwide, including those operated by private companies by the end of next year,' Rini said on Monday.
Rini said state lenders should be committed to working together for the public benefit as electronic payments for toll roads would help the country boost non-cash transactions, which would improve the overall economy in terms of efficiency.
The minister said the synergy in toll road electronic payments should be an 'embryo' for the future expansion of non-cash transactions, such as for buses, railways and mass-rapid transit, as well as other sectors outside public transportation.
During the signing event, the four state lenders, Bank Mandiri, BNI, BRI and BTN committed to adopting an electronic payment system that enables their customers to pay fees on Jasa Marga's toll roads using e-money or prepaid cards issued by the banks.
The prepaid cards are mandiri e-money (Mandiri), Tapcash (BNI), Brizzi (BRI) and Prepaid BTN, which is currently awaiting a Bank Indonesia (BI) permit and still uses Mandiri's e-money system in the new synergy.
As of July, Mandiri had issued 5.9 million mandiri e-money cards, while 300,000 and 3.6 million Tapcash and Brizzi cards, respectively, had been issued.
The agreement changes the existing toll road electronic payment system operated exclusively by Mandiri with Jasa Marga through the 'e-toll' card since 2009.
Under the existing system, toll road users wishing to pay toll fees electronically are only able to use Mandiri's prepaid cards, consisting of e-money, e-toll, Gaz and Indomaret cards, which then transformed into a single card called 'mandiri e-money'.
Mandiri's move to open its platform has been prompted by BI through a revised e-money regulation, which bans 'exclusivity' in the public services sector, such as toll roads and parking.
As regards opening up the platform for private toll road operators, Bank Mandiri president director Budi Gunadi Sadikin said Himbara would support these efforts, while stressing that 'the full implementation of the new system in all Jasa Marga's toll roads can be completed this year.'
Budi said further that the four state lenders were finalizing an integrated ATM system called 'Himbara Link', which, it is planned, would also be open to private banks.
'We are considering setting a higher fee requirement for private bank customers if we open Himbara Link, because we've learned that customers of foreign banks operating overseas, such as in Singapore and Malaysia, are charged higher fees when utilizing local ATMs,' Budi said.
